THE HORNBOOK OF VIRIGINIA HISTORY, 4th edition
Emily J Salmon & Edward D C Campbell, Jr (eds)
"A commonwealth is 'a state in which the supreme power is vested in the
people.' The term as an official designation was first used in Virginia
during the Interregnum (1649-1660), the period between the reigns of
Charles I and Charles II during which Parliament's Oliver Cromwell as
Lord Protector established a republican government known as the
Commonwealth of England. Virginia became a royal colony again in 1660,
and the word commonwealth was dropped from the governor's full title.
When Virginia adopted its first constitution in 1776, the term
commonwealth was reintroduced, most of the people united for the common
good, or common weal. The designation commonwealth of Virginia has been
used in official records ever since. Three states besides Virginia
adopted the appellation commonwealth: Kentucky, Massachusetts, and
Pennsylvania." (page 88)
Leslie Anderson Morales
Reference Librarian
Special Collections
Alexandria Library
717 Queen Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-2420
(703) 838-4577 x213
http://www.alexandria.lib.va.us/branches/lhsc.html
[log in to unmask] wrote:
>I've often wondered about this -- why are VA, PA, MA, and KY commonwealths and the rest of the states of the union are states?
>I'm assuming KY inherited its commonwealth-ness from VA.
>
>I was looking at the early laws of Virginia -- the titles go from "In the 12th year of King George III" to "Interregnum" -- in 1775 -- well before the actual death of George III -- but surely after the battles of Lexington and Concord -- to "In the first year of the commonwealth." So the laws of Virginia actually predate statehood.
>
>Maybe Maryland's laws predate statehood, but there is no such title at the top of each page...http://www.aomol.net/html/legislative.html
>
>Neither is there a title at the top of each page of North Carolina's laws (see google books -- link is too long).
>
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